Quote:
Originally Posted by milomilo
Then scrap it. The route doesn't justify frequent trains as a passenger railway, so if you think it isn't worth running for the tourism purpose alone (as you must, if you intend to segment it), then it serves no purpose. For the small amount of demand that is left, buses are a far better option.
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I think that it's worth pointing out that the Canadian isn't really that much of a money loser. It's about on-par with the corridor routes on a cost recovery basis, and beats the system average by a healthy margin. Urban Sky compiled the numbers from 2017 (and I think 2018, but I can't find them anymore.
I think that with a bit of investment, the Canadian could actually become a useful, perhaps even profitable train. Considering how expensive flights are, a more frequent, faster (return to the 3-day schedule), and reliable Canadian with improved coach (think European-style shared couchettes) could be an option for many people making medium-distance overnight trips (12-18h trips). Trips like Edmonton-Vancouver and Edmonton-Winnipeg were in that range in the old timetable, allowing you to, say, leave Edmonton after work and get to Vancouver by noon, or leave Winnipeg after work and get to the Rockies by the early afternoon. If you have a long weekend and the train travels overnight, it could conceivably become a practical option for spending as much time at your destination without having to resort to a red-eye flight (or drive).
It's definitely not a replacement for regular, frequent daytime intercity service (e.g. Calgary-Edmonton). But I think that the Canadian, far from being a lost cause, already performs decently well from a cost perspective, and has lots of room to grow.